In 2025, more Tiger investors than ever are hitting the million-dollar mark. Through our “The Road to Million Dollars” series, we sit down with these standout traders to explore how they think, stay disciplined, and grow along the way.
At Tiger, investing isn’t just about profit and loss — it’s a journey from ambition to achievement. We hope their stories inspire others to set clear goals and turn the idea of a million dollars from a dream into something real and attainable.
This edition's "The Road to Million Dollars" features Mr. Hu, a post-90s investor who initially worked in the internet industry. Exposure to Hong Kong and U.S. stocks through overseas options led him to develop his own investment approach through years of trial and error, margin calls, and reflection. Starting as a novice who "followed colleagues' stock picks," he gradually learned to use options for high-potential opportunities before returning to a steadier framework centered on long positions. Technology, consumer goods, and China-concept stocks are his main playgrounds, with $MEITUAN(MPNGF)$ and $Alibaba(BABA)$ serving as key case studies for his position adjustments and risk management.
Mr. Hu's story is not one of overnight genius but of repeated comebacks after setbacks and calm reflection following high-leverage wipeouts. His experience demonstrates that investing is not about innate talent but a long-term methodology honed through trial and error, discipline, and deepening understanding.
1. From "Following Colleagues' Picks" to Using Options for New Opportunities
Mr. Hu recalls that his early beginnings were far from sophisticated: after graduating, he followed colleagues in buying a small A-share company and suffered significant losses. What truly pushed him into the Hong Kong and U.S. markets were the overseas options he received at work. To exercise these options, he needed a convenient brokerage, which led him to open a Tiger account six years ago. This professional experience helped him view the secondary market as part of asset allocation and liquidity management rather than mere speculation.
2. The Options Learning Curve Through Trial and Error
Mr. Hu's options journey began with fumbling in the dark—he placed orders without even fully understanding calls and puts. Later, he began treating options as tools for leverage and speculation, primarily selecting short-term (one to two months), out-of-the-money calls to capitalize on small fluctuations for larger returns. He candidly admits that his early fast-paced options trading yielded significant gains, but over-leveraging also led to major setbacks. For instance, when Alibaba's stock was at its peak, he used margin to amplify his positions, only to see his principal nearly wiped out. This painful lesson made him exceptionally cautious about leverage.
3. The End of "Small Bets, Big Returns": How He Determines Options Are No Longer Worth It
After several cycles of big wins and losses, Mr. Hu began adjusting his strategy: he used options to make small bets for oversized returns when markets bottomed out and valuations were reasonable, but as stocks rebounded into fair value territory, he gradually shifted his options positions back to long holdings. Recently, he liquidated all his options positions in favor of long holdings. The reason was simple: many individual stocks had recovered from their lows, reducing the risk-reward appeal of options. Instead, he preferred to hold leading companies he believed in for the long term.
4. Undervalued $NAYUKI HLDGS LTD.(NYKHF)$ , Steady $Haidilao International Hldg Ltd(HDALF)$ , and Buying More Meituan as It Fell
Mr. Hu focuses on two main sectors: technology and consumer goods. His interest in technology stems from his long-term understanding of China's tech industry, while his focus on consumer goods is based on cyclical and valuation assessments. For example, he identified Nayuki as undervalued by comparing its valuation with similar brands. For Haidilao, he values its stable daily consumer traffic. His heaviest allocation is to Meituan. A month ago, he shifted some of his positions from Alibaba and $Kuaishou Technology - main 2512(KSTmain)$ to $MEITUAN(MPNGF)$ , based on a "high-to-low" repositioning logic rather than short-term technical signals.
5. Betting Everything on One Stock? His 50+ Holdings Say Otherwise
Mr. Hu does not set fixed stop-loss or take-profit points. He monitors the market throughout the day and manages his positions based on his broader market outlook. However, learning from past wipeouts, he now avoids concentrating all his bets on a single stock or extreme leverage. His current portfolio is more diversified: roughly 50% in China-concept tech stocks and 50% in consumer sectors, with over 50 individual holdings to mitigate systemic and industry-specific risks. He emphasizes that controlling greed is more important than chasing high returns.
6. The "Million-Dollar" Moment
For Mr. Hu, reaching a million dollars is not the end goal but a checkpoint to validate the effectiveness of his methodology. More important than the number itself are the transformative lessons in risk management and position control that he can consistently apply.
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7. The Most Expensive Lesson: Starting Over After Being Wiped Out at Alibaba's Peak
Mr. Hu speaks candidly about his most memorable lesson: when Alibaba announced major news, he used margin to triple his position size at the peak. When the stock surged shortly afterward, he chose not to reduce his position, and the subsequent market correction wiped out his principal. From that experience, he learned to take partial profits during gains, reduce leverage at highs, and impose stricter discipline on margin trading—even when the market seems certain, always leave room for uncertainty.
8. Advice for Beginners: Experiment, But Don't Be Overwhelmed by Greed
Mr. Hu's advice to newcomers is both practical and straightforward: experiment often and learn from your mistakes, but keep your desires in check and avoid getting carried away in an exuberant market. He shares his investment mantra: "Follow your instincts, go with the flow, and stay unaffected by external noise." At its core, this means maintaining independent judgment while respecting risk and capital management rules.
Mr. Hu's path lacks glamorous tales but showcases steady optimization through repeated trial and error. He has turned "experimentation-adjustment-discipline" into a simple, actionable process: testing the waters in familiar sectors, learning from mistakes, and using diversification and leverage management to keep risks under control. For most readers, this approach may hold universal relevance—rather than chasing overnight riches, it's about gradually turning uncertainty into long-term certainty through continuous, incremental improvements.
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